Have you ever had an event take place in your life that changed everything? Not like the first time you had an In-n-Out double-double; that changed a lot of things but probably not everything! I am talking about an event that changed everything in your life, every day of your life. Thes are the things that make you who you are and that you could not separate from even if you tried. Sometimes these things are bad-traumas, trials, loss, but sometimes they are good. More often than not these moments are life-defining but not necessarily good or bad. In my life, there has probably not been a bigger event, from a life-changing perspective, than that of becoming a father.
Becoming a father changed who I am, how I view the world and what I really care about. And the Crazy thing is it will never change regardless of how well or how bad it goes. This is who I am every day for the rest of my life. Becoming a father is not intended to be a one-time event that you walk away from, but something that defines your life.
In fact, if a person becomes a biological father and then walks away without allowing it to change their life, we use strong words like deadbeat and loser. Not those who can’t care for children and make it possible for someone else to care for them, but someone who just finds it easier to walk away and pretend like becoming a father never happened. A life-altering event that should touch their life for the rest of their life became a one-time event that did not have the impact it should.
Now imagine that same father, the bad one, years later when their child is grown getting upset that they don’t get father’s day cards or invited to family events or mentioned in the valedictorian speech at graduation! They have not lived like a father but for some reason, they are upset at the relationship they do not have?
There are some things that take place in our lives that change who we are whether we want to live like it or not. And if we do not, we alone bear responsibility for the consequences.
I have now been a Christian for 39 years (I know that is very hard to believe)-I accepted Christ on May 3, 1981, in my mom and dad’s bedroom at our home in Kokomo Indiana. Of all the significant events that have taken place in my life, there have been none as significant as putting my trust in Christ and entering into a relationship with God! And yet, if I am honest, I have not LIVED every day of my life as though that is the most significant thing that has ever happened to me. Truthfully, I have had long periods of my life where I lived as if it had not happened at all. And then, because I don’t like to take responsibility for my own life, I blame God, or the church, or other Christians, or my family, when I had lost my way.
I have never stopped being a Christian-But not living a life that reflects who I am will impact me in ways that I alone am responsible for.
But the reality is that, not in your life and not in my life, is a relationship with Christ supposed to be anything but LIFE Altering!
The Gospel is not intended to be a one-time religious event but an eternity altering encounter with Jesus that touches everything in your life every day of your life!
Here is how the Apostle Paul talked about this:
Colossians 2:6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
What Paul is saying here is that these believers should live every day of their lives as a reflection of their faith in Christ! That the Gospel message should be lived out Every Day!
The reality is, in our world, living the gospel every day is if we are honest, extremely difficult. But the alternative is living as less than we were created to be by God. We don’t want to miss what He has for us, so how do we live out the Gospel-Our relationship with Christ?
Understand and Accept the Gospel Message
1Corinthians 15:1 ¶ Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once;
- A Need-Romans 6:23 (Wages of sin is death)
- A Love-John 3:16(For God so loved the world…)
- A Savior-Luke 19:10 (Son of man is come to seek and to save those who are lost)
- A New Life-II Corinthians 5:17 (If any man be in Christ he is a new Creature, old things are passed away, behold all things are become new.)
We are not pretty bad before Christ, we are DEAD! This is what makes the gospel so amazing! When we realize what it all means, we will be motivated to live like it has changed us forever.
Adjust Your Vision
2Corinthians 4:16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; 18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
We view the world through temporary, what is happening right now eyes instead of through Gospel eyes-living out a faith that transcends even death!
Live it Out
Colossians 2:6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
- Know your purpose
Revelation 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
2. Grow your purpose
2Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
3. Go your purpose
1Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
The great thing about the Christian life is that you get to start where you are. Maybe you should have started sooner, maybe you should have done more, maybe there are some hard decisions that you need to make going forward. That’s Ok. The same God that made salvation possible through His Son cares more about having a relationship with you than He does anything else.
How do we know that:
Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Having a relationship with you was the reason for it all. And it is in that relationship that we find hope and clarity and purpose! That is what He wants for you.
The Gospel is not intended to be a one-time religious event but an eternity altering encounter with Jesus that touches everything in your life every day of your life!
Now is the time to live out an Every Day Gospel!
Photo by Anton Shakirov on Unsplash